Tag Archives: Chester Divorce Attorneys

Yesterday, I blogged on the proposed alimony reform legislation in New Jersey. At the end of that post, I posited the following questions. Is this really a radical change, or in many respects, does it simply codify what is often done in practice anyway? Will it really take away advocacy when circumstances so require? Aside from… Continue Reading

There are many cases that say that the settlement of litigation ranks high in the public policy of this state, As such, there are many cases that say that an agreement can be enforced, even if it is not reduced to a writing, if the major terms have been agreed to. As my client learned… Continue Reading

Several years ago, I posted a blog entitled "Some Times You Just Have to Try a Case." In that post, I discussed that there are some times where a litigant simply refuses to settle making a trial inevitable. Are there times, however, when a trial might be less costly, quicker and preferable to long, drawn… Continue Reading

Every month, I get an email with entitled Case Update from the ABA Family Law section which contains blurbs from interesting decisions throughout the country. This week, I got the December 2012 update and had to take two steps back when I read the following blurb: Trial court may, in an initial custody determination, consider a parent’s… Continue Reading

I recently wrote a blog entitled "Sloppy Drafting of Marital Settlement Agreements Can Cause Great Harm, Usually to Only One of the Parties." I am reminded why I wrote that post because as I read the new cases decided each day, it fortifies my belief that settlements must be clearly reduced to writing and that every effort… Continue Reading

If I were to tell you that the victim of domestic violence was put out of the marital home and the abuser was granted temporary custody of the kids, you would say I was crazy. The Appellate Division would agree and in reported (precedential) decision released on October 19, 2012 in the case of J.D. v. M.A.D.(ironically),… Continue Reading

An issue that has vexed us in the past is whether the rules enacted by the Supreme Court regarding parent coordinators were to be applied to all parent coordinators appointed by the Court. In 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court implemented a pilot program in four vicinages (Bergen, Morris/Sussex, Union and Middlesex) for parenting coordinators. … Continue Reading

Melissa Brown, an attorney in Charleston, South Carolina, is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and one of the preeminent family lawyers in South Carolina. I had the occasion, last week, to read her excellent article on her blog entitled "How to Find the Right Divorce Attorney for You." Melissa has graciously allowed us to re-post her post. Her… Continue Reading

It is not unusual to use a three or five year average of someones income when calculating alimony and/or child support if their income fluctuates. Why does income fluctuate? Sometimes people earn commissions based upon sales which vary from year to year. Sometimes the economy or other reasons dictate how much of a bonus they get…. Continue Reading

I have recently had a case where the other attorney would tell us one thing on the phone and another to the Court or in Court papers. When called on this about face in court, the attorney made a weak denial before saying that it does not matter what he said and that it only matters… Continue Reading

For more than a decade, we have known that biological parents have certain constitutional protections that help them defend against grandparents or other third parties seeking visitation with their children. In fact, in New Jersey, because a fit parent has a fundamental constitutional right to autonomy in child-rearing decisions, a grandparent who seeks a visitation… Continue Reading

We have previously blogged on the "rule of thumb", a dirty little secret used by judges and lawyers in New Jersey to come up with a "ball park" as to what alimony should be. This "rule of thumb" does not take into account all of the statutory factors. Rather, the formula simply subtracts the lower… Continue Reading

I had a case recently where we had a conference call with the judge during which time, a discrete issue holding up resolution of a larger issue was discussed. The judge made a suggestion which I took down verbatim and drafted language which I thought would resolve the issue. The problem, the judge’s suggestion was contrary to… Continue Reading

Very often, we deal with cases where one or both parties’ incomes are variable, because they are tied to commissions, etc,. or heavily tied to a bonus which can vary. In fact, for many people who work on Wall Street, their salary (oftentimes in the $120,000 to $150,000 per year range), makes up a small percentage… Continue Reading

Mark Ashton, a partner in our Exton (Chester County, PA) office and former editor of our Pennsylvania Family Law Blog, wrote a very in depth and interesting post entitled "Qualified Personal Residence Trusts: Are These Homes Subject to Claims in Equitable Distribution", on that blog. Mark discusses how an estate planning tool called a Qualified… Continue Reading

Last year, we published a post entitled He Who Hesitates (To Sell Former Marital Home) May Have Lost. However, the Supreme Court disagreed in Sachau v. Sachau decided May 11, 2011. In Sachau, the marital home was supposed to be sold on a triggering event, the emancipation of the youngest child, which in this case was in 1984. The house… Continue Reading

Different forms of social media, Facebook in particular, have become the divorce lawyer’s best friend as a source of damning evidence. In fact, we have blogged about this before. The New York Post today had a story that must serve as a primer on what not to do what when you are seeking permanent alimony… Continue Reading

I have recently blogged about the need for courts to award counsel fees when a party successfully enforces an agreement or an Order. As noted, all too often, court’s do not award counsel fees, or when then do, the award is not the entire amount of fees incurred. This potentially empowers to wrong doer because there… Continue Reading

As a matrimonial lawyer, I often get the question "how old does a child have to be to decide who they get to live with?" There is a perception out there that there is a magic age where a child is empowered to decide which parent they get to live with. This simply is not the… Continue Reading

Last week, the news reported the decision in the custody case involving Miami Heat guard, Dwyane Wade’s, children, after one of the longest custody trials ever in Cook County. Apparently, a large part of Mr. Wade’s decision to seek sole custody of his children was allegations regarding his wife’s alienating behavior. In the decision issued… Continue Reading

One of the hardest questions to answer for a client is why a Court doesn’t enforce their own Orders. The next hardest questions to answer are if they found the other side in violation of litigant’s rights, (1) why weren’t there any real consequences for the violation of the order and (2) why didn’t I get… Continue Reading

Very often, we are confronted with situations where on spouse is self employed and the business pays certain personal expenses on behalf of one or both of the parties. Often times, these expenses are wholly appropriate and would withstand IRS scrutiny. Other times, there are excess perks or other personal expenses paid through the business… Continue Reading

Last year, in the Fawzy decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court put procedures in place approving parents’ ability to arbitrate child custody opinion. This specifics of this decision was the subject of a prior blog at the time of the decision. One of the procedural safeguards required by Fawzy was a verbatim record of the… Continue Reading

It goes without saying that it takes two people to agree to get married, making vows "til death do us part." Those vows, spoken with all sincerity, good intention, and probably with a hopeful belief that the words will be literally followed, somehow fall by the wayside when one party decides to divorce. And while it… Continue Reading